Banking health data like a financial transaction is the simplest solution to healthcare’s networking challenges, says William Yasnoff, MD, PhD, founder of the Health Record Banking Alliance, in the May feature “Taking Medical Records to the Bank.” So far no one has started a health record bank, though several states are considering or planning them. One question still to answer is how to finance their ongoing operation. There are...

In the May issue of the journal, a focus on health information exchange, with a look at the health record banking model, the role of state-level HIE organizations, and the NHIN trial implementations. Members may read all stories online in the AHIMA FORE Library: HIM Body of Knowledge. Select features also are available publicly. May 2008 Features Taking Medical Records to the Bank, by Chris Dimick NHIN Show and Tell, by Gina Rollins...

An Arkansas woman who pled guilty to disclosing a patient’s health information was the first in her state to be convicted under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Andrea Smith, a 25-year-old woman from Trumann, AR, admitted to wrongfully disclosing individually identifiable health information for personal gain, according to a statement from Jane W. Duke, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has reported on the status of the recovery audit contractor (RAC) program in Medicare for fiscal year 2007. In the report, CMS highlights improvements that will be made as it implements the permanent RAC program by 2010. The improvements include a set limit on the number of medical records that contractors may request. The RACs will be required to have certified coders and a medical director...

Three-quarter of states are pursuing some form of health information exchange (HIE), including the creation of public-private entities to provide statewide governance and interoperability. Promoting these efforts fosters both state and national HIE efforts, according to research by the State-Level Health Information Exchange Consensus Project. The research is described in two reports that cover the project’s 2007 work. The first...